All posts filed under: budget vacation

christmastime in the napa wine country

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I have never been to Napa past October, let alone during the holiday season. Usually because, the countryside past the turning of the leaves, isn’t  as appealing during this time of the year and if there is rain involved, the region usually experiences flooding, making it difficult to travel.  However, this past weekend, we decided to venture out to Napa since it’s been unusually warm and dry around the bay area. I must admit, I was actually surprised to discover still remnants of fall all around, with colorful trees standing strong, bright orange leaves hanging on their last thread along the walls of the wineries, vibrant green holy leaves and red berries blooming  through the bare twigs of the fig trees. It was truly a sight for sore eyes.  To top it off, once we opened the doors to all the wineries we visited, I was captivated by the warm glowing lights and sparkle from all the Christmas decor and the subtle smell of cinnamon and spice incense emanating from every room. I loved every …

villa in tuscany if only for a week

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I just can’t snap out of it, I know I have said this before, but it really is difficult to go to Europe, even for two week, then come back to the states and adjust to the every day norm. While I was in Tuscany, the day tour I took drove through some of the most beautiful landscapes in that part of the world and the guide pointed out numerous villas perched up on the hillside. Of course, every woman on the bus awed and oohed, while the husbands rolled their eyes or laughed at us for fantasizing  about owning one. Now, I for one, have always dreamed of moving to Paris some day but in addition to my fantasy of living in Paris, I wouldn’t mind owning a Tuscan villa just for the summer months :).  So, to make my day less gloomy, I found my villa of choice from here.  Happy Monday.

como italy by local bus

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I can never pass up a stop in Como Italy when I travel through Italy. Normally I spend two nights in Como, but  I figured this time since it is Autumn, I would stay in Milan and take a day trip to Como on RailEurope or in this case, the shuttle train from Milan  to Como S.M instead. It was about an hours ride, a bit uncomfortable and long since it made alot of stops along the way, but it was a reasonable cost. 4.50Euros each way, so I couldn’t complain much.  When I got to Como rail station, I noticed, like I did before, a bus labeled Bellagio, which was the area around the lake I wanted to visit. Since it was freezing outside, I decided this time to give the bus ride a try, I knew it was going to circle the lake and that it would take an hour, but I figured I had done the ferry thing about a dozen times before, why not try something different. Well, I must admit …

a day trip to venice, italy from florence

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Since I had been to Venice several times over the last 2 decades, I decided this time around to take just a day trip  from Florence, via train and walk about the streets “outside the high tourist season” being that it is mid October  Well I was wrong, Venice, from the looks of things, probably has no down time from tourism, so walking the small streets from the train station to San Marco Square was, once again, very challenging to say the least and took more time then I expected it to. However, putting that aside, Venice is one of the most photogenic , if I may use the term, travel destination for any photographer. I can’t imagine anyone returning from Venice with bad photographs. Anyway, although I entered a few stores to appreciate the Moreno glass neatly displayed everywhere, I spend the majority of my time taking photographs. I even wrote the boat taxis up and down the canal just to get photos of every nook and krany of this marvelous city. Here are …

most memorable photographs of san gimignano, italy

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There are some places in Italy I have wanted to see for a long time but didn’t dare to rent a car, so this trip I decided to take a day tour just to get a glimpse of the small villages throughout Tuscany. After Siena, we headed out to San Gimignano, which is situated on a hilltop somewhere in Tuscany, click here if you want all the statistics and other vital information.  After given a brief explanation of what to look for, we were let loose to wander about the village. Which is exactly as it should be during a bus tour. Brief explanation and alot of time to be on our own. From San Gimignano, I took away the following: {photos are the property of http://www.rawsilkandsaffron.wordpress.com}  

marble decor in siena, italy

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I have always had an admiration and appreciation of design with marble and because of it, I enjoy my trips to Italy even more since I get to see the best of the best marble decor mostly in their churches or cathedrals. So, while in Siena, of course outside of Piazza del Campo,  I drifted away from my day tour and walked into Sienna’s most famous Cathedral (Santa Maria Assunta) in order to get time to see the mosaic marble decor.  Lucky me, apparently the floors of the church are kept covered for most of the year but this particular year they decided to open it to the public during the month of September and October, so I got to see the most amazing marble mosaic works in all it’s glory. Here are five out of the 50 plus photos I took just inside the cathedral 🙂 Enjoy! {photos are the property of http://www.rawsilkandsaffron.wordpress.com}

gilli delight in firenze, italy

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It’s amazing how we are drawn to some things in life. Like for instance, when I walked about Florence yesterday on my way to the Uffizi Museum, I was immediately drawn to a corner bakery, Gilli,  simply because of the picture above. I had seen the photograph throughout most of my adult life and wondered where it was taken? I knew it was somewhere in Italy during the 40s or the 50s but wasn’t exactly sure where in Italy. Well, it was apparently taken at the very corner of the street where a delightful cafe, simply referred to as Gilli, is located in Florence or at least that is what I was told. As I sipped on my cappuccino and nibbled on fresh baked  butter cookies at the coffee bar inside, I stared out the window at the corner where the photograph was taken in an attempt to interpret the contents. I wondered was the picture an authentic reaction of a women, while being aggressively propositioned by the men of that era or was it …